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‘Death bond’ insurer set for £1bn London float

Patients whose life expectancy is cut by illness can obtain higher-paying insurance (Getty)

A BRITISH insurer that specialises in “death bonds” is set to be London’s next big float, with plans for a £1bn listing.

Partnership Assurance, which provides enhanced annuities — higher-paying policies for people whose life expectancy has been cut by illness — could fire the starting gun on a London listing as early as this summer, City sources say.

The company, based in Redhill, Surrey, is owned by the buyout house Cinven, which has a sprawling portfolio of investments across Europe that includes the Pizza Express restaurant chain.

Cinven hired two investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, last June to lead the listing preparations.

The plans have been stepped up in recent weeks following the bounce in the stock market that has seen the FTSE 100 jump 7.3% since the start of the year. It closed on Friday at 6,328.26.